Free Chased - A Titan Novella (Titan (Novella)) by Cristin Harber

and the occasional illumination of red lights along the back panel delivered the bad news. She was stuffed in a car trunk, wearing a practice costume. A black bustier, glittery boy shorts, and high heels that would make the burlesque world proud. Not the best run-and-escape outfit, and she sure wouldn’t be blending into a crowd if she did get out in public.
    Two immediate options popped to mind. Kick out a tail light and stick her foot out the trunk. That would surely get someone’s attention. Or she could wait until they stopped somewhere and scream until a passerby heard and called for help.
    She opted not to wait and began kicking. The tail light didn’t budge. Not as easy as it looked on television. Every pothole and sharp turn jarred her. The air was warm and stuffy and seemed to worsen with each passing hour.
    It had to be hours. Right? Where were they going?
    Eternity passed, and finally the car stopped for longer than a red light. The engine cut off, and her stomach tightened. She might throw up.
    But that wouldn’t help her.
    Get it together, Jenny!
    She sucked down a weak breath and willed her nerves to quiet down. They only semi-listened. A lock clicked, and the trunk popped. She jumped up to the same man who’d offered to be her acting coach and who matched a photo Asher had shown her that morning. Maxwell.
    “Why are you doing this?”
    “Doesn’t matter to you.”
    Jenny tried to scamper out of the trunk, but his thick arm caught her. She blinked under the pressure on her neck and threw her hands in the air. He would knock her out again. She remembered that was how he’d done it the first time.
    “Sorry,” she choked out. “Shouldn’t have done that.”
    His arm released, and she looked around, for the first time realizing where they were. I’m at home? The car was parked in the alley behind her apartment. But why?
    He dragged her to the back entrance and jimmied the door open then did the same to her apartment and walked in. The most comforting place in her whole world now appeared dark and menacing. The man kept the lights off and pushed her on to the couch.
    “Stay.”
    She nodded. Would anyone think to look for her at home? What did he want with her? Too many questions flooded her mind. Her head pounded, her limbs trembled, but her stomach growled.
    Maxwell looked at her. Guess her stomach growled loudly.
    “Get up.”
    Jenny stood and wobbled in her heels.
    “Kitchen.” He directed her as if she didn’t know where it might be. “Get some food.”
    “Okay.”
    His voice hadn’t been nice, but the gesture was, and she didn’t trust it. She could run better on bare feet and would as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Jenny slipped off her shoes in front of the fridge.
    “Are you hungry?” she offered, the refrigerator door open. Make friends with the enemy. Sun Tzu said that kind of stuff, right? Molly always said things like that. Asher probably thought like that too.
    The man grunted and stalked around the kitchen, checking out the window.
    “Find food quickly and shut the door.”
    Jenny nodded. “I know you don’t want to hurt me.” He didn’t answer but went to each window, placing wires and small blocks on each. “I won’t tell a soul if you just walk out now. Please.”
    What were those things? Alarms? Mini-bombs?
    He turned and narrowed his eyes. “Find something to eat.”
    She pulled a container of dip out of the fridge. “Sorry. Just trying to make conversation. I’m bad with quiet.”
    Really, she wasn’t. She would prefer nothing more than silence and to be left alone. But that wasn’t going to happen. So she would butter him up. He might let down his guard and make a mistake, and then she could escape. And if nothing else, maybe he’d let her throw on some jeans. Her legs were freezing in the glittery boy shorts.
    Maxwell looked into the hall but stayed nearby. “Try to keep your mouth shut.”
    “Chips?” She grabbed a bag from the cabinet.